Why you should avoid hard acceleration

Keeping up good acceleration habits is important not only for safety but also for economic and environmental reasons. By taking it easy on the accelerator, you can save money on fuel costs, reduce emissions, and make our roads safer - all at the same time!

What to do

• Accelerate gradually. You don’t need to go from zero to one hundred right after the light turns green – a gradual increase will be better for your car, and safer to boot!
• Utilise cruise control. When you’re on highways, cruise control can keep a steady speed without input from the driver, which means that coming down or going up hills will be kept at the same speed.
• Leave some space. You don’t need to quickly accelerate to fill the gap between you and the car in front, especially in stop-start traffic – in fact, leaving a gap is encouraged!

How you could save money

When a car accelerates quickly over a short distance, it has to work harder and use more fuel than if it accelerated gradually over a longer period of time. This means that not only will your vehicle endure more in terms of wear and tear on its components, but it will also be less efficient when it comes to fuel consumption - 10%-40% more in start-stop traffic alone!

By taking your time when accelerating from a red light or merging onto the highway at speed, you can reduce engine strain and extend the life of its parts so they don’t need replacing as often. In addition, aggressive driving, which includes hard acceleration, uses up more fuel – so practicing good acceleration habits could help lower your overall petrol costs as well with an improvement in overall fuel economy!

How you could have lower emissions

This one ties in with your fuel efficiency. As cars accelerate more rapidly, they emit more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This means that if you take it easy on the pedal, not only will you save money on fuel costs but you can also reduce your car’s emissions as well. Using less fuel means emitting less carbon into the air we breathe.

In addition to gradual acceleration, other ways to lower emissions include:

• keeping your tires properly inflated
• ensuring that your vehicle is regularly serviced, and
• using fuel-efficient engine oil.

By making small changes in how we drive our vehicles, we can all help reduce our impact on the environment.

How you’re making our roads safer

This one may be obvious, but increased safety is always worth talking about. Hard acceleration can lead to loss of traction which increases the risk of accidents in wet or icy conditions. Moreover, sudden bursts of power can cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles more easily, which in the worst scenarios can increase the chance of a crash occurring.

Taking it easy with the accelerator is an important part of safe driving habits that all motorists should keep in mind when they get behind the wheel. So let's do our part by practicing good habits every time we hit the road!

How AAMI Driver Rewards can help

AAMI Driver Rewards can help you track your driving habits. All you need to do is:

• log in to the AAMI App
• tap on ‘Driver’ to see your rating and any categories where you might be able to improve, and
• keep an eye out for any special offers that may pop up in the future!

Download the AAMI App

Read more:

• Why you should avoid hard cornering when on the road
• Why you should avoid hard braking
• How to avoid driver fatigue

Insurance is issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 AFSL 230859 (AAI) trading as AAMI. Read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. The Target Market Determination is also available.
This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situations or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.